Ramah Camping Movement
National Ramah Commission, Inc. of The Jewish Theological Seminary
INCLUSION TRAINING GUIDE
FOR JEWISH SUMMER CAMPS
June 2015 | Sivan 5775

FJC logo
Dear Ramah Staff Members and Colleagues,

The Inclusion Training Guide for Jewish Summer Camps is a new online resource designed to provide hands-on training guidance and support for camp staff seeking to create or expand inclusion programs.

This resource has been developed as a partnership between Ramah and the Foundation for Jewish Camp. We are grateful to the UJA-Federation of New York - Neshamot Fund for supporting this project through a generous grant to FJC.

You can download this guide in one of two ways:


This resource is designed for use by camp directors, inclusion specialists, directors of a disabilities camping program, counselors, or activity specialists. It offers basic information on the history of disabilities camping, models of camping for people with disabilities, benefits of camping for both campers with disabilities and the typical camp community, overviews of various disabilities, and many useful tools and program ideas for day-to-day work with campers.

This effort to collect and organize useful resources has been led by Lisa Tobin, director of FJC's Disabilities Initiative, and Howard Blas, director of the National Ramah Tikvah Network, with the help of many colleagues in the disabilities camping field and the professional teams at FJC and Ramah. Our Ramah project team included Tali Cohen, Director of Tikvah Vocational Services at Ramah New England, and Orlee Krass, National Ramah Tikvah Coordinator.

Please contact either Howard or Lisa if you have any questions about the guide.

Shalom,
Mitch Cohen
Rabbi Mitchell Cohen, Director
National Ramah Commission, Inc. of The Jewish Theological Seminary
Ramah is the camping arm of Conservative Judaism. Together, our programs provide Ramah experiences for more than 10,000 children, teens, and young adults annually.

The Ramah Camping Movement is a pioneer in the field of inclusion for Jewish campers with a wide range of disabilities. Tikvah, Breira B'Ramah, and Camp Yofi comprise the National Ramah Tikvah Network of programs. Since the first Ramah Tikvah program opened in 1970, a variety of programs for campers with disabilities -- overnight and day camp programs, vocational education programs, and family camps and retreats-- now operate camps across North America. Regardless of their geographic location, families are directed to the regional Ramah camp that best suits their child's needs..

The National Ramah Commission of The Jewish Theological Seminary provides oversight, educational planning, and coordination on behalf of the network of Ramah camps throughout North America and Israel.